The last promise
by chibiangelfromheaven
Summary: He'd kept all his promises, so she had no reason to believe he'd not keep this one. He did...just not the way he wanted to. Character death. NaruIno. Intended to be a string of one-shots that occur after the first chapter.
1. The Last Promise

Ok, so this is the possible start of a one shot sequence that I'll possibly update as I get to it. Not quite a coherent story, but it'll be ok.

The pairing's not where I'd normally go, but it worked better for the plot I had than any other pairing I can reasonably write.

Don't own Naruto, but the three nameless genin in this one shot are mine.

* * *

It was their anniversary, and she fussed around the house. She'd set the table for two, and she was expecting him home soon.

_I'll be home for our anniversary._

He'd yet to break a promise, so she knew he'd be home soon.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

She bounded over, expecting to see him at the door with flowers or chocolates or some other gift for her.

_I'll bring you a gift._

Instead, her team mate stood there with hollow eyes and pasty skin.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, clutching the doorframe for support.

"Ino…" he said weakly.

She went pale, knowing something was wrong.

"It's Naruto."

_I'll be fine._

"What happened, Choji?" she asked.

"They were ambushed on their way back." Choji explained, "Naruto was protecting his team."

"Where is he?" she asked desperately.

"The hospital. The Hokage is with him now."

"His team?"

"All under observation. They took some hard hits."

"It was a _C-rank_ mission for _genin_. How'd they end up in that kind of fight?"

"Wrong place, wrong time. Naruto did his job as a sensei and protected them."

Ino glanced back at the table set for two and said, "Take me to him, Choji."

_Don't worry about me._

--ooo--

There were more wires and tubes visible than flesh. His hair was matted and the colour of the dried blood that was all through it, with only streaks of the beautiful sunny blonde that she loved to run her fingers through.

Three genin, only twelve and a half years old, sat in the waiting room with her.

"Will Sensei be ok?" the girl asked.

"Sure he will." the taller boy declared, "He's _Sensei_. Nothing stops Sensei."

"Don't be so sure." the shorter boy said, "Even the best ninja fall eventually."

"Don't say that." the taller boy hissed, glancing at the girl sitting next to him, her eyes covered by a bandage. It was unlikely she'd ever be a ninja again, not with the limited sight she would have now if she had any sight left at all. With the injuries all three had sustained, it was doubtful if any of them would ever be fit to be ninjas again.

"Ino, since you're here," Sakura said, coming over, "the results from your test came in."

Ino turned to Sakura, waiting for more bad news.

--ooo--

"He is no longer physically among us, but he will always remain with us." Tsunade said at the funeral, "Although our sun has set, let us keep his light in our hearts and minds."

Ino didn't look good in black, everyone knew that, but today it seemed most fitting that she of all people wore the colour of mourning.

"You didn't keep your promise, Naruto." Sakura whispered to the dead youth's coffin, "You didn't make it back for your anniversary."

"No." Ino insisted, "He did make it back. He even brought me a gift, just like he promised."

She glanced at the diamond ring on her finger, found in Naruto's pocket after he died the day after their anniversary. This was the gift he'd wanted to give her, and her reply would have easily been yes to the question that would've accompanied the ring.

Three genin stood to Ino's left, the three students Naruto had taken on six months ago and left a profound effect on.

The girl was working to overcome her blindness, the taller boy was recovering nicely with therapy, and the shorter boy was left with only a few scars where they had thought he would lose all sensation in his left leg. The three of them would be ninja again in no time, and intended to take the first chunin exam they could rather than follow another sensei's orders.

"He gave you more than one gift, you know." Sakura replied.

Ino's hand fell to her still-flat abdomen.

Yes, she decided with a smile, his other gift would be with her for a very long time to come.

_I never want you to cry because of me, Ino-chan. If I ever make you cry, I promise to make it up to you. I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy again._

Although he'd never know it, Naruto had kept every promise he ever made.

He came home, although not how he intended to.

He gave her two gifts, although one he'd never known about.

He made her cry, but he made her happy again with the thought that a piece of him would always be there with her.

_I'll love you forever, Ino-chan. I promise._

She never doubted for a minute that every promise he made, he'd keep.

* * *

Note to self: never listen to The Last Post while contemplating a one shot.

I'm Australian, so I'm currently celebrating ANZAC day. (Google it if those terms if they mean nothing to you).

So, later.

Reviews appreciated, but not required.


	2. Dear Otousan

I don't own Naruto, although I wish I had a part share in it. All I own are my Oc characters who pop up in my stories.

So this is the second part of The Last Promise. It's from a different character, and I'm worried she doesn't come across how I want her to. Well, here goes...

* * *

Dear Otou-san,

How are you? Do you miss Okaa-san? Do you miss my brother and me?

Okaa-san says you died before you knew about us, but we were your last gift to her. I don't understand what she means, and no one will explain it to me.

She doesn't talk about you much, most of what I know comes from Sakura-oba-san and Choji-oji-san, but I think she misses you.

My brother and I are ten years old now, and we're in the Ninja Academy. Iruka-sensei takes us out for ramen sometimes when Okaa-san is away on missions and we're staying with Sakura-oba-san or Choji-oji-san.

People say I look a lot like you. How is that possible, if I'm a girl and you're a guy?

I asked Tsunade-baa-san to tell me about you once when I was little, but she looked like she was going to cry when she told me that you were sunshine. Is that why Okaa-san called me Youko and my brother Taiki?

Taiki says you were mean for leaving Okaa-san, but I think you'd be here if you could. I mean, if you're the person Sakura-oba-san and Choji-oji-san say you were, then you'd be here if you could be.

I don't know how to get this letter to you, so I'll put it with all the others in the box under my bed, but maybe you'll get my message no matter what I do.

I just wanted to tell you that I wish I'd met you, even once. You're my Otou-san, after all.

Are you proud of me? Did you want me? Would you love me if you knew me? Maybe one day when we finally meet you can tell me yes or no, but for now I'll pretend that you are proud of me and that you did want me.

So, from the daughter you never knew about, I'll say this: I love you, Otou-san. I always will.

Youko

* * *

_Taiki means great radiance and Youko means sunlight child_

So, how does Youko come across? Is she too insecure for your taste or too sappy? Feedback is appreciated


	3. Promise to a dead man

Now's as good a time as any to warn you that the one-shots won't be in chronological order. Maybe when (if) I ever complete this sequence I'll sort out the chronological order then. This one, however, introduces the twins and Naruto's genin students and gives a vague idea of how they are.

I don't own Naruto. The only characters I own are my OCs, and in this sequence they, so far, are Makoto, Osamu, Hitomi, Youko and Taiki. More might appear later, but for now that's them.

* * *

"Hurry up, Osamu!" the lanky red-head called, "Hitomi, this is no time to dawdle!"

"You'd think it was his, the way he's acting." Osamu mumbled.

Hitomi laughed and ran her slender fingers through her frizzy blue hair.

"Are you coming or what?" the red-head bawled.

"Slow down, Makoto." Hitomi called back, "They won't disappear, you know."

It was hard to tell that this team was on the verge of being pulled from the ninja lists due to injuries only eight months prior. Hitomi was now almost totally blind after having an unknown powder thrown in her eyes, but a better ninja because of it. Osamu, left only with scars on his left hip, had been very close to losing sensation in his leg and being forced to use crutches or a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Makoto had been hit in the shoulder with two kunai and a senbon, but luckily the damage had been mostly muscular and all repairable.

Right now, the trio were headed for the Konoha General Hospital, where their dead sensei's partner currently was. Although they'd never married, they had been very much in love. So much so that the trio had gagged whenever they saw their sensei and his girlfriend together.

They arrived at the hospital in record time from the gates. Despite telling Makoto to slow down, Osamu and Hitomi had gone faster to be here in time.

"You didn't even stop by the Mission Office, did you?" Sakura asked, eyeing the trio of young ninjas, "You're chunin now. There's no reason to hand in reports late unless there's something really important happening."

"Sensei's kid being born doesn't count as really important?" Makoto demanded, insulted.

Sakura admitted that was true, but who'd told them Ino had given birth anyway?

"Choji-san was at the gates telling Shikamaru-san." Hitomi replied, running her fingers through her hair again, "We decided to come here. I sent Gamakichi to Iruka-sensei with the report."

Imagining the toad, now as big as Akamaru if not bigger, turning up at the Mission Office with the mission report made Sakura laugh. Poor Iruka-sensei.

"Don't you have work to do, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, coming down the corridor. She saw the three chunin. "Shouldn't you three be handing in a mission report?"

"Gamakichi's handling it." Hitomi replied.

Tsunade understood, and told them to follow her to the maternity ward. Ino, it seemed, had gone into labour earlier that day and had given birth to twins rather than the expected single baby only twenty minutes ago. A boy and a girl.

"Sensei's got two kids?" Makoto asked.

"Has Ino-san named them yet?" Osamu asked.

"She hasn't told anyone, if she has." the Hokage replied. It had been a while since she'd done midwifery, but she didn't really want anyone else to deliver Naruto's kids.

"Can we go see her?" Hitomi asked eagerly.

Tsunade said they could, so long as they were _quiet_. She shot a look at Makoto, who grinned sheepishly.

Ino was glad to see them, but wasn't entirely impressed by their state.

"I know you three were out tracking bandits, but did you have to bring the topsoil back with you?" she asked.

"We just wanted to see the babies." Makoto insisted, "We won't touch them. Honest."

Osamu leaned over the sterile plastic hospital bassinets and said, "They're tiny."

"Everyone is when they're born." Ino replied.

"Have you named them?" Hitomi asked, washing her hands at the sink by the door.

Ino nodded, and they all but begged to know the babies' names.

"The girl's Youko and the boy's Taiki." Ino explained, carefully getting up out of the bed.

"Those are good names." Hitomi said, "Osamu, Makoto, what do they look like?" She wanted to know, even if she'd never see their faces.

"They've both got blue eyes, and little bits of blonde hair." Osamu said.

"Youko has whisker marks on her cheeks, just like Sensei had." Makoto added, "They're really faint, but they're there. Taiki doesn't have them."

The trio left soon after that, but not before promising to be babysitters if ever Ino needed them.

--ooo--

"Hey, Sensei." Makoto said, dropping down in front of Naruto's grave, "You're a dad now, but I bet you already knew that."

"They'll probably both be very loud, knowing who their parents are." Osamu added, joining his team mate.

"We'll look after them, Sensei." Hitomi assured the dead man, "Just like you looked after us."

Osamu set a bowl of ramen in front of the tombstone before digging into his own bowl of ramen. Makoto began to slurp his noodles down, while Hitomi carefully ate all of the bits of meat that floated in her bowl before eating her noodles and then drinking the brother.

Although their sensei hadn't been with them for long, he had impressed upon the trio the value of the team and of keeping promises. Now they made a promise to their dead sensei, and until the end they would protect his kids.

When they saw their sensei again, they'd be able to hold their heads high and tell him they'd kept their word.

* * *

Out of curiosity, does anyone want a piece that properly introduces Taiki, or should Youko be the main character of the sequence?


	4. Daddy's girl

Sorry for the delay, folks.

I'm sitting right on university exam week at the moment (well, it starts on Monday) so I've been kinda busy lately.

This piece of _Fan_fiction is my attempt at a second person piece. Hopefully it works.

* * *

You watch her bounding down the street with your old sensei. You wish it was you she was dragging along, and not him. It feels strange to be jealous of Iruka-sensei, but you are.

You watch her climb your red-haired student's lap, clutch his chunin vest and cry. You wish it was you who wiped away her tears, but that would never happen. Makoto does his best to fill in for you, but even he knows no one can replace you in her life.

You watch her fight with her brother and see your former team mate break them up. You wish Sakura didn't have to do that, but there's no other way. Ino's on a mission, and Sakura's taking care of the twins.

You watch her write letters she doesn't think you ever see. You wish you could write back. Her insecurities are poured out onto paper, and you would love to be able to respond, but incorporeal hands can't hold pens to write with.

When she was born, you were there watching. When she took her first steps, you were there. When she entered the Ninja Academy with her brother, you were at the gates in the morning and in the afternoon for weeks until you were sure she was safe.

You watch her sleep at night, brushing semitransparent fingers over her whisker-marked cheeks. So much like you, they say, and you agree. She will be Orioke no Jutsu personified when she grows up, if she grows up.

What you wouldn't give to be able to hold her, to whisper in her ear just once that you love her. To tell her, even in her dreams, that she was wanted.

To tell her that, no matter what separates you, she was and always will be daddy's girl.

* * *

Feedback appreciated

BTW: I have a tendency to swap between words like "daddy" and "otou-san" where one or the other is appropriate, although mostly I'll go with the Japanese over the English


	5. Toad Memories

This one is actually Gamabunta-centric, and introduces a new character (sort of, you'll probably miss it).

Don't own Naruto, never will.

I spent all weekend at my local anime and video games convention, and came home broke. Cosplayed as Shippuden Tenten in the Cosplay Competition, but didn't win anything. People liked my costume, though.

* * *

When Gamabunta met Jiraiya, his first thoughts were _'This loudmouth is the one who signed the contract? You gotta be kidding me!'_ It didn't take long to learn that Jiraiya made a good drinking buddy, and was smarter than his abrasive exterior let on. That was what formed the basis of their friendship originally, although Jiraiya would sooner give up porn than Gamabunta would admit it.  
The last time he saw Jiraiya, they drank themselves into a stupor and moaned along the way that they'd be lost to the mists of time when they died. Neither one knew how wrong they were.

When Gamabunta met Minato, he wondered how two so different people could sign the same contract. But if Jiraiya could out_drink_ the boss toad, Minato could out_think_ him. Gamabunta had a grudging respect for the man, which eventually became a strangely brotherly bond between man and amphibian.  
The last time he saw Minato, the man was lying dead on the ground outside Konoha clutching a little blonde-haired newborn who was shrieking at the top of his lungs. All he could think of as the ninjas came to find their fallen Hokage was that the poor kid was going to go through Hell growing up.

When Gamabunta met Naruto, he didn't recognise him as the same kid as the one Minato had held that day. It didn't take more than a second, however, for him to pin the boy as Minato's son. It took a little longer to identify his mother, but that grit could only have come from one place.  
The last time he saw Naruto, they were drinking to honour the anniversary of Jiraiya's death and Naruto said, "I want to go down fighting, just like Ero-senin did." The boss toad was glad that Naruto got his wish.

When Gamabunta met Hitomi, he didn't think much of her. Blinded in the battle that killed her sensei, the girl should've quit being a ninja. Like her sensei and team mates, she proved everyone wrong when they counted her down and out.  
The last time Gamabunta saw Hitomi, she was fighting for her life under the hands of Haruno Sakura in the field. He felt his world turn inside out and upside down when Sakura pulled away and said, "I'm sorry, Gamabunta-sama."

When Gamabunta met Taiki, he couldn't believe two loud blondes could produce such a sullen brat. The lack of his father probably didn't help, but he shouldn't hate the man he'd never met. It took many years before the boy asked Gamabunta about his father and grandfather, but the boss toad had been waiting for it and regaled the boy with stories of the two blonde who came before him.  
The last time Gamabunta saw Taiki, the boy was standing over his injured team mate Hatake Obito while his sister fought elsewhere. When Taiki asked Gamabunta, "Would Otou-san be proud of me?" Gamabunta was glad to be able to say, "Yeah, kid. He would be."

Now, Gamabunta watched from outside the hospital as they fought to save Taiki's life. He didn't want to lose another summoner just yet, not so soon after the last one. When Sakura turned to the window and saw the boss toad's eye filling the glass pane, she gave him a weary smile and a thumbs up. Taiki would live.  
Glad that Taiki would live, Gamabunta disappeared with a 'poof'. The toads would be summoned again, and he would be able to tell Taiki more stories of his father and grandfather.

* * *

As a warning: these one-shots are not always going to be in chronological order. After this one I have about three options (one half finished and two complete) that I can put up next. One is set when the twins are twelve, one when they're fourteen and one is from the perspective of their team mate over a series of four years. I think the one from their team mate's perspective will be going up next in this series.

Reviews are like chocolate: sweet when you get them but not necessary.


End file.
